Ecclesiastes 8:12
EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALL RIGHT!
Intro: Last night, I was watching a program on
television. It referenced an Amtrak accident that
occurred in Maryland in 1987. In that accident, the
Amtrak engineer was smoking marijuana and drinking
and was not paying attention to the warning lights on
the track. As a result, he allowed his passenger train to
collide with a freight train. In the collision, dozens of
people were either seriously injured or killed. The
engineer served 5 years in prison.
In Kentucky, a drunk driver hit a church activity bus
head on. The fuel tank on the bus ruptured and 27
people, mostly teenagers, on the bus were burned to
death. The drunk driver served a nine year sentence
and is no free.
Those are horrible incidents, and in each of them it
seems like those where the most innocent suffered the
greater trial. Life is like that sometimes! There are
times when it seems that trouble comes to those who
ought to enjoy the fullest of life's blessings.
That is the problem the writer of Ecclesiastes is
dealing with in this passage and it is a problem that we
all deal with from time to time. It is a problem that I
would like to address this evening.
Even though we look around us and see injustice
and trouble coming to people and we may wonder why.
Even though we all go through times of struggle and
question the reason behind it in our own lives. Even
though some of you may be there tonight, I want to tell
you and show you from God's Word that Everything's
Gonna Be All Right! Let's learn that truth from the
Word Of God This Evening! That's right! No matter
how it looks right now, Everything's Gonna Be All Right.
Let me prove it.
I. THE PROBLEM THAT BOTHERS US
A. Verse 12 reminds us of the age old question that
has plagued the heart of man since the dawn of
time: "Why do the righteous suffer while the
wicked prosper?" Verse 14 clearly lays out the
problem experienced by the Preacher. This is a
question that is addressed many times in the
word of God.
1. It is the focus of the book of Job! (By the
way, Job's "friends" concluded that the
righteous do not suffer. Therefore, Job's
trials were in reality the result of Job's sins!
Many people still have that opinion in our
day!)
2. It is also the focus of Psalm 73. Asaph is
nearly to the point of giving up as he
witnesses the prosperity of the wicked and
the trials of the righteous.
3. Psalm 37 also deals with this problem, as
does Psalm 49.
B. In fact, the idea that serving God brings with it
immunity from trials has caused many suffering
saints to become disillusioned and has them to
quit serving the Lord. Now, I want to be clear
that serving the Lord does bring with it many
benefits. If you are saved, you are the partaker
of a list of benefits that is too long to mention this
evening. Some of which are: Salvation,
forgiveness of sin, eternal security, a home in
heaven, the presence of God, the promise of His
help and provision, etc. However, most of them
are spiritual in nature, while most of our trials
happen in the physical realm. That is why we
often have a problem accepting the things that
come our way.
C. If we are not careful, when the trials of life begin
to multiply in our lives, we might come to the
same conclusion that the preacher came to in
Ecclesiastes, Ecc. 1:2; Ecc. 2:23. We might
just come to the place where we think that all of
life, especially the rewards of living for the Lord,
are just a waste of time.
(Ill. Let me just remind you that there are no
accidents with the Lord! Ill. "When a cowboy
applied for an insurance policy, the agent asked,
"Have you ever had any accidents?"
After a moment's reflection, the applicant
responded, "Nope, but a bronc did kick in two of
my ribs last summer, and a couple of years ago
a rattlesnake bit me on the ankle."
"Wouldn't you call those accidents?" asked
the puzzled agent.
"Naw," said the cowboy. "They both did it on
purpose!")
D. We have discussed the problem, this evening,
and it is a problem that we all deal with at one
time or another. Now, let's allow the Lord Jesus
to help us to achieve the proper perspective on
this subject. Notice what He said in John 16:33,
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in
me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world."
According to the Lord, as we move through
life we can expect that there will be pressure
placed upon us from time to time. Even though
we know it, as did Job (Job 14:1) it still bothers
us when we see the righteous suffer.
II. THE PROMISE THAT BLESSES US
A. The goes on to tell us that even though the
wicked seem to prosper and the righteous seem
to be unjust burdens, things will eventually work
out for those who love the Lord. He seems to be
reminding us that even our trials have the ability
to be turned into triumphs.
(Ill. A man who was deep in debt had to walk
past the door of a wealthy businessman each
day. The rich man, who had no idea what it was
like to be poor, learned of the debt-ridden man's
plight and observed that he seemed very
downcast. One day, as the poor man walked by,
the wealthy man threw a heavy bag out the door.
It struck the passerby, slightly injuring him.
Seeing no one around, he picked up the bag and
began to limp away. As he did, he heard the
clinking of coins. He opened the bag and to his
amazement found enough money to pay off his
debt. Just then he heard a voice from the
businessman's door, calling, "Keep it; it's yours."
Sometimes troubles hit us like that heavy
bag, knocking us down and causing us injury.
But God can bring great gain into our lives
through these burdens and trials.)
B. That is why I am glad that I can report to you this
evening that Everything's Gonna Be All Right! It
may look bad for you this evening, but in the
end, things are going to work out just like God
has planned! And, you may ask, what has God
planned? He has planned nothing but the best
for His children, Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor, 4:17; Jer.
29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of
peace, and not of evil, to give you an
expected end."
C. Allow me just to touch on a few areas of life
where the devil likes to tell us that we are
wasting our time. That things are no going to
work out and all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Yet, I want to tell you, by the Word of God this
evening that everything is going to be all right!
1. The Area Of Our Trials - When the burdens
os life begin to pile up on us, there us a
tendency to want to throw in the towel. Let
me just remins you that the Lord is working in
your life and Everything Is Gonna Be All
Right! You may not can see that this
evening, but God will work it out in the end!
(Ill. A pastor whose son had committed
suicide stood up to preach only ten days
later. The text he chose was Romans 8:28:
"And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have
been called according to his purpose."
After reading the verse aloud, he was
obviously having trouble continuing. He said,
"I cannot make my son's suicide fit into this
passage. It's impossible for me to see how
anything good can come out of it. Yet I
realize that I only see in part. I only know in
part.
"It's like the miracle of the shipyard. Almost
every part of our great oceangoing vessels
are made of steel. If you take any single
part--be it a steel plate out of the hull or the
huge rudder-- and throw it into the ocean, it
will sink. Steel doesn't float! But when the
shipbuilders are finished, when the last plate
has been riveted in place, then that massive
steel ship is virtually unsinkable.
"Taken by itself, my son's suicide is
senseless. Throw it into the sea of Romans
8:28, and it sinks. Still, I believe that when
the Eternal Shipbuilder has finally finished,
when God has worked out His perfect design,
even this senseless tragedy will somehow
work to our eternal good.") That is the
response to trouble that we are looking for as
we move through our trials this evening.)
2. The Area Of Our Salvation - How many
times has the devil, or your own flesh, tried to
tell you that you are wasting your time trying
calling yourself a Christian? How many times
has the devil tried to convince you that you
were not saved? Now, I don't know if you are
saved or not, but I can say that if you have
trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior,
then you have some wonderful promises that
tell you clearly that Everything's Gonna Be All
Right! Notice: John 10:28; Heb. 7:25; Rom.
8:1; John 5:24; John 6:37. The list could go
on and on. If you are genuinely trusting
Jesus Christ this evening then don't let the
devil mess with you! If you are God's child,
then Everything's Gonna Be All Right!
3. The Area Of The Church - We are living in a
day when people, even those who claim to
be saved, are turning away from the church.
If we aren't careful, we will allow the devil,
and our own foolish thinking convince us that
the church is in trouble and that she's going
down. Well, I just want to remind you thins
evening that Everything's Gonna Be All Right
where the church is concerned! Remember
what Jesus said: "...upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.", Matt. 16:18.
This house is His house and He will take care
of it. By the way, when did He ever promise
us that the church would always stay on the
mountain top? He never did! There will be
times when the church will walk through the
valley, but we must learn to keep our eyes on
Jesus and He will bring us through that valley
back to clear air of the mountaintop!
(Ill. If we aren't careful, we will become
sidetracked at church! It has happened to
me! Imagine that! You get so focused on
who isn't there and what their problem might
be that you forget about the one's who are
there. In other words, we can get to the
place where we miss the forest for the trees!
May the Lord help us to remember that the
church is His investment and He will tend to
it! Our sole duty in regard to the church is to
be obedient to what the master has called us
to do. If we are doing that to which He has
called us, then the rest is His responsibility!)
4. The Area Of The Future - One of the
greatest worries that occupies our minds
concerns this question: What will happen in
the future? Really, we spend much of our
time worrying about what might happen.
Well, let me just tell you this evening that
Everything's Gonna Be All Right in the future!
I might as well tell you now that there will be
trials and there will be valleys. But, there will
also be blessings and times of great victory.
There will be good times and there will be
bad times in the future, but through them all,
remember that we serve a God Who is
already in the future and He has promised to
go with us there to lead us safely through,
Heb. 13:5. Whatever the future may hold for
you, remember that your Heavenly Father
has personally designed your future and
whatever comes your way first had to receive
His divine approval!
5. Just remember that in every area of life,
Everything's Gonna Be All Right!
Conc: J. W. Bramhall says, "Sorrow can lead us into
one of four lands: the barren land in which we try to
escape from it; the broken land in which we sink
under it; the bitter land in which we resent it; or the
better land in which we bear it and become a
blessing to others."
I wonder this evening, where are our trials leading
us? Do you really believe that everything's gonna be all
right? If there are doubts, why not let the Heavenly
Father sooth them this evening? He can help you to
safely navigate the troubled waters of trial and affliction.
There is a story told about a certain handicapped
high school student. Although the crutches on which he
hobbled kept him from being physically active, he
excelled in his studies and was well liked by his peers.
They saw the problems he had getting around, and they
sometimes felt sorry for him, but for a long time nobody
asked him why he had this difficulty. One day,
however, his closest friend finally did. "It was polio,"
answered the student. The friend responded, "With so
many difficulties, how do you keep from becoming
bitter?" Tapping his chest with his hand, the young man
replied with a smile, "Oh, it never touched my heart."
My friends, that is what the Lord Jesus can do for
you and for me if we will face our trials with faith
knowing that everything's gonna be all right!
